Children, Youth, Families Minister

TRINITY Church Lewes (UK) Lewes, England, United Kingdom

Hours

25,500

29,000

Role Purpose

To lead and develop TRINITY’s ministry with children and youth (4‑18 years) and their families, growing disciples of Christ. This will include building teams, shaping programmes, supporting parents and the church to raise children and youth in faith. As a member of the TRINITY staff team, you will also be involved in our wider ministry implementing our vision and values.

About Trinity

This is an exciting time to join the team at TRINITY.

TRINITY is a vibrant, growing and outward‑looking Anglican Church with more than 250 people meeting across 3 locations and 5 congregations throughout the beautiful town of Lewes, East Sussex. At the heart of our life together is a vision to see lives transformed by the love of Christ and to build wholehearted disciples of Christ.

We are a Charismatic, Evangelical church, orthodox in our theology, and deeply committed to remaining faithful to the gospel and passing on the Christian faith to future generations in a rapidly changing cultural context. We are empowered by the life of the Holy Spirit, who witnesses to the reality of God’s coming Kingdom. This is reflected in our three values: To encounter the Holy Spirit in worship and prayer; To be transformed disciples of Christ; To see the Father’s love transforming our community.

We are seeking a new member of staff to oversee and develop our children and youth ministry as part of our vision to see lives transformed by the power of God and grow as disciples of Christ. We currently have meaningful relationships with around 20 youth (of which 10 are regularly at church on a Sunday) and around 25 children (of which 18 are regularly at church on a Sunday) and we have a large parent and toddler group and pre‑school sing‑along group. All of these give significant opportunity and joyful responsibility to nurture faith and belonging, alongside events and activities to build and grow those relationships.

We have two Church of England Primary schools in our Parish, along with two more non‑church primaries plus a Secondary school, a college and an independent school for 3‑18 years. We have relationships with all the schools, to a varying degree.

The Staff Team

TRINITY is served by a growing team of dedicated and passionate people. While each person brings particular gifts and areas of responsibility, we place a strong emphasis on working collaboratively, relationally, supporting one another, and sharing a common purpose.

• Esi Appiah‑Kusi; part‑time Contemporary Worship Leader and Evangelist
• Christine Angell; part‑time Administrator
• Katharine Boulter; part‑time Church Suite and operations worker

Current Children and Youth Ministry (Programme)

Weekly groups

• Sunday Groups during our morning worship at St John sub Castro
• XCite: Wednesdays. 3.15 pm – 5.00 pm. School Yr 2‑6 (games and bible teaching)
• Afterhours: 2nd & 4th Sunday evenings. After evening service. Finish 9.00 pm. School Yr 9‑13 (games)
• Weekly lunchtime prayer space at our two church primary schools
• Our youth join with a monthly Deanery youth service and take a lead with the sung worship. The leading of the service is shared by the Youth Leaders

Annual CYP events

• Maycamp: Chichester Diocese camp at Plumpton. Second May Bank Holiday weekend. School Yr 7‑10.
• Fun Day – Early September before schools go back
• New Wine Summer Festival and New Wine Leadership Conference attended by some leaders
• Firm Foundations run for children and youth to develop and grow in their music ministry

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop ministry with children, youth and their families
• Provide strategic and pastoral leadership for TRINITY’s work with children and young people (4‑18 years) and their families, ensuring discipleship is central, purposeful, well‑resourced, and integrated with the life of the church and mentors them into the next generation of Christian leaders
• Shape a culture of discipleship for children and youth; develop and oversee programmes, practices and rhythms that help children and youth grow into confident, secure young adults with a solid faith in Jesus. Blend our three values into TRINITY’s CYP ministry of encountering the Holy Spirit in worship and prayer, being transformed disciples of Christ and seeing the Father’s love transforming our community
• Equip and support parents and carers; affirm and support parents and carers as the primary nurturers of their children’s faith, offering encouragement, resources and opportunities for connection that strengthen faith formation in the home and in everyday life
• Build, lead and develop teams; raise up and recruit, train, support and line‑manage volunteers and leaders within the CYP ministry, fostering a healthy team culture and enabling others to develop their skills and vocation and be part of the shared responsibility of building disciples
• Continue and develop relationships with our Church Primary Schools and, as much as possible, develop and/or grow relationships with the other educational institutions in our parish
• Contribute to the mission and life of the wider church; work collaboratively with the wider staff team and church leadership to ensure we live out our vision and values to grow disciples as God builds His church
• Ensure safe, inclusive and well‑governed ministry; responsibility for ensuring that all children’s ministry operates within TRINITY’s safeguarding policies and best practices. Develop and support accessibility and inclusion for children and families with additional needs. Manage the administration and communication within the role (we use Church Suite and Microsoft 365) and take responsibility for the CYP budget

About You

• Passionate about discipling children, young people and their families
• Experienced in leading, growing, inspiring and running children’s and youth ministry
• A confident and relational leader
• An inspiring leader who will encourage and enjoy seeing others grow and flourish in their gifts
• Creative and self‑motivated
• Fun and creative with others and with ideas
• A team player
• Someone who can take direction from a leader and colleague
• Able to plan and give time to doing effective administration
• Healthy communication with children/youth and their parents
• Able to manage a healthy work/life balance, and take holiday, days off and retreat days
• Has a flexible approach to hours, and is able to manage a varied flexible diary
• Has a respect and tidiness for their workspace (admin and group session)
• Emotionally mature, knowing your strengths and weaknesses
• Able to admit and own mistakes if and when they happen
• Gospel‑centred, evangelical, spirit‑filled and spirit‑led
• Wanting to grow in knowledge and love of Jesus Christ through a regular pattern of prayer and bible study
• As a faith‑based organisation, our beliefs are foundational to everything we do. It is therefore an occupational requirement for any applicant to be a practising Christian in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, and a communicant member of the COE or of a church in communion therewith or of a member Church of the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland or of Churches Together in England, or a member Church of the Evangelical Alliance. They must also already have the right to work and remain in the UK

Safeguarding and Accountability

At TRINITY we are committed to creating a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment for all. We adhere to and implement the Chichester Diocese Safeguarding policies. The Children, Families and Youth Minister will be responsible for ensuring that all CYP ministry operates in line with the church’s safeguarding policy. They will be part of TRINITY’s safeguarding team and work closely with the Parish Safeguarding Officer, ensuring that volunteers are safely recruited and trained. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

The role is accountable to the Rector and works within the governance and structure of the Church of England.

This post involves regulated activity and is subject to an enhanced DBS clearance and satisfactory references.

This initial job description forms neither an exhaustive list of duties nor a set of “hard and fast” expectations and requirements but rather serves to outline the role. TRINITY believes that everyone has been blessed with different gifts and talents, and that it is key these are considered when creating a detailed job description. As such a more detailed job description will be developed with the successful candidate during their first year. There will be a 6‑month probationary period.

What Next / Practical Details

• Salary: between £25,500 - £29,000 (depending on experience and qualification)
• Accommodation: This job comes with a generous two‑bedroom flat, in a property owned by TRINITY
• This is a Full‑time job (part time and job share will be considered for the right candidate)
• Visit & Interview dates: Sunday 20th & Monday 21st September (availability for both dates is essential). Sunday will include meeting youth, parents and volunteer children’s / youth leaders

Charismatic, Evangelical Anglican Church

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